Highest yielding HP mods for M3 excluding S/C

[335iCoupe1382]

What are some good HP yielding mods for the M3?
Just curious to hear from some experienced mod experts that have gone this route.
I know the ESS 550 S/C kit is around $7K and yields an additional 130hp over stock, which is probably the best high HP mod route, but there is something cool and unique about an N/A M3 with a full exhaust, tune, etc...
Is 480-500hp attainable N/A?

[LarThaL]

Originally Posted by 335iCoupe1382

What are some good HP yielding mods for the M3?
Just curious to hear from some experienced mod experts that have gone this route.
I know the ESS 550 S/C kit is around $7K and yields an additional 130hp over stock, which is probably the best high HP mod route, but there is something cool and unique about an N/A M3 with a full exhaust, tune, etc...
Is 480-500hp attainable N/A?

Almost anything is attainable. All depends how much you want to spend. Look at the Dinan 4.6L stroker build.

Within reason, the single biggest power gain will be from eliminating the primary catalysts.

[335iCoupe1382]

Thanks for the reply. What kind of HP gain would result from eliminating the primary cats?

[UBER ///M3]

dollar for hp the S/C is the way to go..i have 10k in mods to my car and with i would have bought one right off the bat...but we live and learn

[mdosu]

Straight pipes, pulley, tune.

[Sal@AUTOcouture]

Best bang for your buck is going to be test pipes and a catless tune

[335iCoupe1382]

What type of HP gain can I achieve through a tune, straight pipes, pulley?
I know you can't compound the gains, but with all three mods combined can I see 40-60hp gain?

[FVM3]

Originally Posted by 335iCoupe1382

What type of HP gain can I achieve through a tune, straight pipes, pulley?
I know you can't compound the gains, but with all three mods combined can I see 40-60hp gain?

Some where like that. Get pulley, tune, catless x pipe, exhaust and filter

[Radiation Joe]

Originally Posted by 335iCoupe1382

What type of HP gain can I achieve through a tune, straight pipes, pulley?
I know you can't compound the gains, but with all three mods combined can I see 40-60hp gain?

I believe you'd be looking at about 40 hp. There are lots of claims out there. I have the Dinan mid and rear sections, a tune along with Dinan pulleys. When I add up all the Dinan parts separately, I get 47 hp, so I'd feel confident to say I'm getting 40+. 450 - 460 at the crank.

You should search for dyno results and figure out the consensus on how much can be gained.

[JD3]

Originally Posted by christopherchenm

Some where like that. Get pulley, tune, catless x pipe, exhaust and filter

Op, just so you know, x pipe and test pipes are different. I personally have test pipes, axle back, aa green filter and a tune. Its quite a difference.

[Alex07M3]

Test pipes and tune is the best bang for bucks! Turner Motorsport claims a gain of 40whp and 32lb-ft with their products! Can't wait to install mine in a week or so!!

[LarThaL]

Originally Posted by Radiation Joe

I believe you'd be looking at about 40 hp. There are lots of claims out there. I have the Dinan mid and rear sections, a tune along with Dinan pulleys. When I add up all the Dinan parts separately, I get 47 hp, so I'd feel confident to say I'm getting 40+. 450 - 460 at the crank.

You should search for dyno results and figure out the consensus on how much can be gained.

It really doesn't work this way. You can not add up the claimed horsepower gains of each part and obtain a total.

For the OP....with an ECU tune, and primary cat delete, you will see about 25-30hp consistently. If the atmospheric conditions are perfect and/or if you can get some 100 octane fuel, you will see an additional 10-15hp or so.

A maximally tuned NA 4.0 motor would entail intake, pulley, full exhaust, revised cam shafts, larger fuel injectors, revised throttle bodies, raised rpm limit, overall cooling system capacity increase for maximal heat extraction (radiator, pump, thermostat), larger oil pan and oil cooler. Then a custom ECU based on all the new hardware. I believe you could get 500 NA hp this way. The street drivablity of the car will be impaired, and the fuel economy would really suck, as would the low rpm performance. If you want, you can also change the rods and pistons to obtain a slightly higher compression ratio

[Koldun]

Seems like you can expect about 15-20 from test pipes and another 15-20 from a tune. So those are your top two options (really one option since you need a tune to get rid of check engine light).

After that you got pulleys for about 10, intake for about half of that (drop in filter alone is just noise on newer M3s), and catback exhaust for about half that again.

Some folks have achieved 400 at the wheels from those mods alone, but you must have a strong base car and an excellent tuner. Software makes a huge difference, I just had mine updated to 240E at the dealership, and I can feel the difference.

[FVM3]

Originally Posted by JD3

Op, just so you know, x pipe and test pipes are different. I personally have test pipes, axle back, aa green filter and a tune. Its quite a difference.

Sorry im noob about exhaust. Whats test pipe?

[Koldun]

Test pipes on the left. They remove the primary catalytic converters, the biggest restriction of airflow in the exhaust.

[STi_traitor]

Most have stated it already but your best bet in my opinion to get a bang for your buck without going super charged are below. I currently am running test pipes and a tune. This is good for me IMO and to get a different sound out of the car I installed a modified axel back.


Here are your cheaper route choices with estimated cost:

Tune ($1,000)
Test Pipes ($395-495)
Pulley system ($299-399)

Some say not to go with the pulley system because it robs the car of cooling itself. I am not one to know the exact outcome of it because I don't have a pulley. I decided not to go with it due to tracking on the Nurburgring and things get fairly hot. Test pipes and a tune are looking to be around 1400-1500 dollars depending on who you buy from for the pipes.

[Nordstat]

OP I assume you mean 500bhp, not 500rwhp. If so, tune, x-pipe, pulleys, and filter should get you into the 370-400rwhp range, which translates to ~440-480bhp. Not to shabby and considerably quicker than a stock car.

...no supercharger tho.

[f32458]

interesting, I had iPE F1. I lost torque at lower RPM. It was pretty obvious to me the M3 was lack of torque in city driving. I had iPE changed the X pipe with two resonators/cats and the torque improved immediately. What is this exactly? Do I have the similar setup for optimal hp/tq gain?

[Koldun]

Dinan differential?

[Longboarder]

For highest HP yielding mods, the answer is above: stroker kit.

For the single best bang-for-your-buck mod, nodoby has yet to mention it: The Vishnu PWM meth/tune system. It will yield approximately 40-50 RWHP on an otherwise stock M3. I never did this as I went straight to a supercharger, but some like TMR have done this and hit close to 400 RWHP without any other mods.

[pbonsalb]

Stock, you probably have about 345 rwhp. All the usual bolt on naturally aspirated mods will get you close to 400 rwhp. A stage 1 centrifugal supercharger with no other mods will get you about 475 rwhp.

I am too practical to consider this, but if you spent two to three times what the stage 1 centrifugal supercharger would cost, you could build a naturally aspirated motor that would make more power. People have built 4.4L and 4.6L motors, added bigger throttle bodies, worked heads, Shrick cams, etc.

I was happy with the car in stock form for about a year. Then I wanted more power. A supercharger was not an option due to cost. Over the next year, I added a relatively inexpensive aftermarket x-pipe, used underdrive pulleys, used intake and filter, and a used tune with methanol injection. I spent about $2,700 in parts and did all the labor myself except some tig welding to add resonators to the x-pipe. In a couple of years, I might buy a used supercharger.

[Powerbeast]

Akrapovic Evolution will give you a good increase in power +DPs and a tune.